Chapter 136: The Prospects of Melon Seeds

Whenever seeds are saved, they must be taken from the earliest-ripening batch. Through such selective breeding, the superior qualities of the crops can be maintained. Now that the business opportunity had been recognized, future developments had to be taken into consideration. Otherwise, if everyone focused solely on the immediate profits of making five-spice melon seeds, what would happen next year?

Qi Changwen slapped his forehead. "Right, right, the little girl is right. We must set aside the seeds first. Otherwise, there won't be any next year." A man as astute as Qi Changwen simply hadn't thought of it in the heat of the moment. Now, having suddenly seen the light, he hurriedly instructed his son to go and pick a hundred or so of the finest melons to be saved as seeds.

"Little girl, we'll save thirty melons for you. Once the seeds are extracted, your family can plant some next year as well," Qi Changwen smiled.

Jiaoyan smiled faintly, making no comment on Qi Changwen's gesture. She had kindly offered her help and pointed out a path to wealth for the Qi family; whether they offered her a share of the profits or just some seeds, it was only right. However, she did not yet hold this modest sum of money in high regard. She would wait until the melon seeds were actually sold; saying anything now was premature.

"Lass, how many do you think we should make this time? We can have your uncles pick them right away, and while the weather is nice these few days, we can get to work," Qi Changwen asked.

Jiaoyan naturally had no objections. She was idle every day anyway, so any time was fine for her. The Qi family, on the other hand, was clearly somewhat anxious. Understandably so—with so many melons sitting uselessly in the fields and finally finding a good way to use them, how could they not be anxious?

Thus, that very afternoon, the members of the Qi family went to the fields to harvest the melons, and under Jiaoyan's guidance, extracted all the seeds. This time, they obtained around a hundred pounds of melon seeds. After washing them clean, the entire batch was sent over to the Miao family. Jiaoyan prepared them using the exact same method as before, noting down the proportions of every ingredient on a piece of paper. To maintain a consistent flavor for these melon seeds, the measurements of the ingredients had to be precise every single time.

On the twenty-eighth of July, Gu Chenren, along with Jiang Binghao and several fellow students, set off for the prefecture city. The院试 (imperial院 examination) was to be held at the Liaodong Academy in the prefecture, so they had to arrive early to prepare for the various examination matters.

Madam Li had packed a generous amount of silver coins for Gu Chenren, along with some prepared gifts. Since Gu Chenren was going to the prefecture city this time, he naturally had to pay a visit to the He family, and he certainly could not go empty-handed.

With their youngest son seen off, Madam Li and Old Master Gu spent their days absent-mindedly. They muttered constantly, wondering what kind of outcome their son's examination would yield. With her mind occupied by her son, Madam Li temporarily lacked the energy to make things difficult for her daughters-in-law, allowing Madam Wu, Madam Zhao, and the others to breathe a sigh of relief.

Madam Zhao was already more than three months pregnant. Having passed the initial morning sickness period—aided by occasional nutritional supplies sent by Madam Feng and her own maiden family—she maintained a very healthy complexion. Her morning sickness had ceased, and her spirits were quite high.

Without a doubt, the most excited person about Madam Zhao's pregnancy was Gu Chengyi. He treated her with extreme tenderness and care, terrified that some mishap might befall her belly. Gu Chengyi was skilled with his hands and was frequently called upon to do carpentry or masonry work. Whenever he encountered something delicious at banquets, he would secretly bring some back for Madam Zhao to eat. Most villagers were aware of the Gu family's circumstances, so the hosts would usually prepare a little extra and intentionally pack it for Gu Chengyi to bring home.

Gu Chengyong frequently took Wensheng, Wenxiu, and the others up the mountains and down to the rivers. Whenever they caught or foraged something delicious, aside from sharing it with everyone, Madam Feng would quietly set aside a portion and send it exclusively to Madam Zhao. In this way, Madam Zhao managed not to go without proper nourishment. Otherwise, given Madam Li's miserly nature, Madam Zhao wouldn't even have had enough to eat, let alone extra nutrients to support fetal development.

Sisters Wenfang and Wenfei would also sneakily buy treats from time to time to cook special meals just for Madam Zhao. Reluctant to eat everything herself, Madam Zhao always saved some for the girls. In the end, only little Wenxiu managed to share a few bites, while the older children never touched them. For the sake of the child in Madam Zhao's womb, the whole family pulled together and finally pushed through the most difficult first three months.

The Gu family's new house had been completely renovated. The main rooms and side wings in the back courtyard had all been whitewashed inside and out. At this point, the rooms were airing out to dry; once given a final cleaning and furnished with furniture and daily necessities, they would be ready for habitation. Old Master Gu and Madam Li came over every day to inspect the place, and wherever something seemed amiss, they had their sons fix it up.

With August fast approaching, the old man began to mutter about the autumn harvest. He instructed Gu Chenzhong to dig out sickles and other farming tools, repair whatever needed fixing at the town, and sharpen everything in preparation. "In my view, once August arrives, we'll start bringing in the crops. We'll harvest the sorghum and millet first, then move on to the corn and beans. The weather has been good this year, and the crops have grown quite well. We need to harvest them promptly, thresh the grain, and then we can focus on preparing for Fifth Brother's wedding."

While every household in the village was preparing for the autumn harvest, the Qi family received some wonderful news. "Dad, I went to the dried goods shop in town, and after tasting our melon seeds, they immediately decided to take the whole hundred pounds. What's more, they offered twenty-five *wen* per pound! Goodness, nobody expected these melon seeds to sell for twice the price of regular sunflower seeds. They're even more expensive than raw ones! Dad, calculating it this way, our two mu of land not only didn't lose money this year, but actually turned a profit!"

Qi Jianyuan—Xuemei's father—strode in from outside, calling out loudly as he returned from seeking out buyers. His booming voice instantly perked up everyone in the Qi family.

"Eldest, are you telling the truth? Can they really sell for twenty-five *wen* a pound?" Qi Changwen could hardly believe his ears. This price was almost double that of ordinary sunflower seeds and considerably higher than ordinary raw melon seeds in their shells.

Moreover, they had calculated beforehand that a single *mu* of melon fields should yield nearly four hundred pounds of seeds. With such a yield combined with this price, a single *mu* could generate close to ten taels of silver. Such output was by no means low; compared to the few hundred catties of grain produced by an ordinary *mu* of land, which only fetched two or three taels of silver, this was undoubtedly a huge windfall.

"It's true, Dad! Calculating it this way, this is even more profitable than selling watermelons. We truly have that little girl Jiaoyan to thank this time. If not for her, all our melons would have just rotted in the fields," Xuemei's father said with a sigh of emotion. "Oh, right, the shopkeeper also said they'll want about this many melon seeds again in a few days, urging us to hurry up and make some more."

"Dad, shouldn't we hurry to the melon fields and harvest all those remaining melons? The melons out there are thoroughly ripe by now, so we shouldn't leave them in the ground any longer. Let's bring them all back, extract the seeds ourselves, and dry them in the sun. Then we can ask that lass Jiaoniang to help us turn them into the finished product. I reckon we can still get several hundred pounds out of it, and that's all hard cash!" Xuemei's father said excitedly.

The old man nodded. "Mm, we should harvest them promptly. In a few days, the family will be busy with the autumn harvest, and we won't have the time for this. By the way, we agreed with lass Jiaoniang from the start that she gets half of the earnings. Eldest, go invite Jiaoniang over. We must keep our word; we can't take advantage of a child. She kindly helped us out, so we can't do anything conscience-less."

Qi Jianyuan nodded. "Right, right, we owe this entirely to Jiaoniang; we mustn't forget her kindness. I'll go invite Jiaoniang over so we can discuss this with her. Moving forward, we'll still need her help to turn all these melon seeds into that five-spice flavor. These things are an absolute novelty around here. I'm thinking of taking some to the county town one of these days to see if they might sell even better."

"If that really works out, our family will plant several more *mu* next year to bring in even more silver," Qi Jianyuan said, his mind nimble enough to spot the immense business opportunity hidden within these melon seeds. Naturally, he wouldn't let such a chance slip by; having stumbled upon a way to make money, who would easily give it up?

"Dad, I'm off to the Gu family then. We'll need Jiaoniang's help for this matter, after all," Qi Jianyuan said as he stepped outside.

"When you go to the Gu family, invite Dayong's whole family over. I'll have your wife and the others prepare good wine and dishes so we can properly thank little Jiaoniang. That child is bright, perceptive, and knowledgeable having returned from outside—truly extraordinary. We must get along well with them and make sure not to offend that little girl," Qi Changwen urged hastily.

"Understood, I know what to do," Qi Jianyuan acknowledged, turning and walking away.

Meanwhile, Qi Changwen informed the old matriarch, who promptly instructed her daughters-in-law to slaughter a chicken and prepare wine and food. She also sent a grandson out to buy wine and meat to properly host the Gu family that evening.

Qi Jianyuan walked briskly all the way to the Gu family. By dusk, the Gu family was also busy preparing dinner. Old Master Gu sat in the courtyard enjoying the cool breeze and looked surprised to see Qi Jianyuan approaching eagerly. "Oh, Eldest Nephew, what brings you over? Is something the matter?"

Qi Jianyuan asked with a broad smile, "Gu Uncle, I'm looking for Brother Dayong about something. Is he home?"

Old Master Gu nodded. "Yes, yes, he just got back from outside and should be resting in his room. If you're looking for him, just head on in." The old man knew that the Qi family got along very well with his second son. Throughout the summer, the Qi family had frequently sent vegetables and fruits over, and today he wondered what business they had with his second son again.

Qi Jianyuan nodded to the old man and walked toward the western courtyard, rounding the corner to the innermost courtyard at the very back, where he spotted Gu Chengyong sitting there. "Gu Second Brother, my father sent me to invite your whole family over for dinner." Without beating around the bush, Qi Jianyuan stated his purpose the moment they met.